Chapter 6 – “The Prisoner”
The Mandalorian has a run-in with some old friends this week on the Disney+ Star Wars series. However, these old friends aren’t the kindest souls in the Outer Rim, so of course, Mando is in for some trouble. This week’s episode of The Mandalorian, titled “The Prisoner,” had our titular character working with some shady individuals to help breakout a prisoner from a New Republic jail.
There was a lot going on in this episode, and we’re going to breakdown some of the Easter eggs and references you may have missed while watching the episode. Obviously, there are spoilers ahead, so if you don’t want to be spoiled… come back after you’ve watched the episode.
And just a quick reminder before we get started that Episode 7 of The Mandalorian will air on Wednesday, December 18 and not on December 20. That means you can watch Mando on Wednesday then go to your local theater on Friday to watch The Rise of Skywalker and not have to over-pack your day with Star Wars.
Now, let’s get onto breaking down some of the key things we noticed from “The Prisoner.” Then, if you’ve missed them, make sure to check out our Easter egg guides to Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, and Chapter 5.
1. The Mandalorian sure does love hiring comedians
We’re seen quite a few comedians have predominant roles on Mandalorian, going all the way back to Episode 1, where we saw Horatio Sanz and Brian Posehn pop up. In this episode, comedian Bill Burr plays Mayfeld, a mercenary who used to be an Imperial sharpshooter.
There’s a fun moment where Mando finds out Mayfeld worked for the Empire and seems unsure about his skills, to which Mayfeld replies, “I wasn’t a Stormtrooper, wiseass.” Because, as we all know, Stormtroopers all has terrible aim…and armor…and everything else.
2. Reference to The Last Jedi
When Mayfeld sees the Razor Crest–Mando’s sweet ship–he says it looks like a “Canto Bight slot machine.” As you may–or may not–remember, Canto Bight is the casino city that appeared in The Last Jedi.
3. An alien species we haven’t seen much of
One of the crew is Burg, who is a Devaronian. This species is typically involved in the criminal underworld, as that’s really the only way they’ve been portrayed in current Star Wars canon. The first time we saw one of these characters was in A New Hope in the cantina. Clancy Brown (Rebels, The Clone Wars, Spongebob Squarepants) plays Burg on this episode.
4. More Twi’leks!
We’ve mentioned previously that Star Wars movies and TV shows love its Twi’leks, and so do I. However, on this episode, they get the spotlight, even if one of them is a little “unbalanced.” This is Xi’an, and the person under that makeup is Natalia Tena, who you may remember from the Harry Potter films as Tonks or when she played Osha on Game of Thrones.
5. This is the droid you’re looking for
Look, another comedian in a role on this show! The pilot Xero is voiced by Richard Ayoade, and he is best known for his work on The IT Crowd.
6. More interesting Twi’lek information
During the course of the episode, we see Xi’an has a fondness for daggers. Did you know that Twi’leks–on their home planet of Ryloth–were known for crafting elegant daggers?
7. A video game reference
While the crew is on the Razor Crest, awaiting to come out of hyperspace, Xi’an and Mayfeld are talking about Mando, and Xi’an tells Mayfeld to “ask him about the job on Alzoc III.” This is a frozen planet in the outer rim that is mentioned in several Star Wars video games like Star Wars Galaxies and The Old Republic. This is the first time the planet has been mentioned on-screen in current canon.
8. A grim reminder of Jar Jar Binks
In one of the weirdest moments of the episode, Mayfeld wants to know what Mando looks like under the helmet (probably like Pedro Pascal, if I had to guess). Mayfeld asks if Mando is Gungan, and then proceeds to speak like a Gungan saying, “Yousa don’t wanna show yo face?” Does everyone in the Star Wars universe hate Gungans?
9. Another connection to a Jon Favreau character
In Episode 3, the descendant of a Jon Favreau-voiced character from Clone Wars appeared on Mandalorian. And during one scene, an Ardennian is seen inside a jail cell. Favreau voiced the character Rio Durant in Solo: A Star Wars Story, which was the same alien species. Obviously, this prisoner couldn’t be Durant because he’s dead. But the first appearance of an Ardennian was in Solo, so there’s your Favreau connection for the week. He is the executive producer and showrunner of Mandalorian, so we’re going to assume this was deliberate.
10. A Clone Wars connection
The New Republic soldier guarding the prison is none other than Davan, whose outfit is really working for him–the belt matches the shoes. The actor playing him is none other than Matt Lanter, who voiced numerous characters on the Clone Wars animated series, the most notable being Anakin Skywalker.
11. There’s Dave Filoni
While this episode doesn’t have a ton going for it in the way of Easter eggs or other references, there are three big cameos at the end. The first is Dave Filoni–the person who created the animated series The Clone Wars and Rebels. He appears as X-Wing pilot Trapper Wolf, which could also be a cool name for a character in a ’90s 2D beat-em’ up video game.
12. There’s the director of this episode
The second cameo is this X-Wing pilot Jib Dogger. That is none other than Rick Famuyiwa, who directed this very episode. Famuyiwa also directed the movie Dope, which is a very dope movie.
13. There’s the director of the best episode of this series
Finally, there’s the final X-Wing pilot cameo, and it’s Deborah Chow as Sash Ketter, who directed Episode 3 of this series, and she’ll be helming the Obi-Wan Disney+ show as well.
